Academic standards and policies Academic action: probation,suspension and student appeals Credit load Continuous enrollment for developmental students Dean's List Degree/certificate requirements Developmental education Final Exam General education requirements Grades and grading Honors Religious Holidays Repeated courses Writing Policy
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Academic standards and policies

In order to ensure students’ progress, CCBC has established academic standards and regulations. Exceptions to regulations and policies may be granted under special circumstances through the established appeal processes. All academic policies are currently under review by The Community College of Baltimore County and are subject to change.

Student Academic Appeals

Academic appeals are those that do not involve alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct (such as cheating) but instead involve allegations of error or misjudgment about academic matters. Typically, these are allegations by students that they have been assigned inappropriate grades by their instructors.

In such cases students must first confer with the faculty member involved. A student who is unsatisfied with the result of such a conference or who has been unable to contact a professor after multiple documented attempts must next take his/her concerns to the instructor’s immediate supervisor, providing copies of any documents that are relevant to the appeal, such as the syllabus, graded assignments, and the like. Every effort will be made at this level of appeal to reach a just resolution of the problem.

The final level of appeal is that of the dean of the school offering the course. Students appealing to this level must submit their concerns to the appropriate school dean in the form of a written statement setting out the factual basis for their allegations as clearly and completely as possible, and providing copies of all relevant documents. This written appeal must be submitted to the dean within 45 calendar days of the conclusion of the course.*

Upon receipt of such a written appeal, the dean will, within 15 days, inform the student that the student must elect one of two courses of action: (i) to have the dean render a final decision based upon the student’s written statement and the results of any additional investigation that the dean may deem appropriate or (ii) to have the dean convene a hearing board to make a recommendation to the dean before the dean makes a final decision. The student must select their option within 15 days of notification by the dean.

If the student elects to have a hearing board, the dean will appoint a board composed of at least two faculty members (at least one of whom is from a different discipline than that of the faculty member involved in the appeal) and at least one student. The dean will also appoint a hearing officer from among the professional staff of the College who will preside over the hearing. All of these persons will be screened for their ability to hear the appeal in a fair and impartial manner and to avoid conflicts of interest. This is an academic appeal procedure. Any legal counsel utilized will not have voice rights at such a hearing. The hearing or final decision of the dean must occur or be rendered within 90 days of the student selection of final appeal option.

After the hearing is conducted, the hearing officer will submit a written recommendation to the dean as to how the issue should be resolved. The dean will take this recommendation into account in rendering a final decision, which shall be submitted in writing to the student and to the faculty member.

*The submission deadline may be different for appeals in the School of Health Professions (SHP), due to the unique nature of some of its programs. Students should consult the SHP for details.

Policy for "Grandfathering" CCBC Students Who are Enrolled in Discontinued Programs

When a program of study is discontinued, students will be afforded time to complete the program requirements. Program Coordinators will work with students to develop plans to help students complete their coursework. If particular courses are no longer offered, substitutions may be made. The length of time for services and benefits to be extended is determined by the number of credits the student needs to complete the program, with the maximum of up to two years after the discontinuance of the program. Requests for further extension must be submitted in writing to the Vice President of Instruction.